Hardworking and goal-oriented, with a close relationship with the fiddle.
Gro Marie Svidal has made herself Swedish, but is releasing her second album back home in Jølster. Photo: Martin Hugne
Jølstringen Gro Marie Svidal has made a name for herself in Sweden, but on Thursday the Hardanger fiddle virtuoso returns. Her solo album Eilov must be released in her home country.
- To get a natural relationship with the instrument, the kids lie spread out on the floor. Can they do the same bow strokes lying down? "I can play the fiddle, listen to how well I play," the fiddles answer. The year is 1985, Knut M. Sandal and Hilde Bjørkum recruit young folk music enthusiasts to Indre Sunnfjord Spelemannslag The youngest in the group, and one of the most enthusiastic, is Gro Marie. The five-year-old has been pushing herself to join in - she wants to do everything her big sister Eva Kristin does.
Since 2003, Gro Marie Svidal has made a living from music. She is among the country's most active Hardanger fiddle players, traveling far and wide, both at home and abroad. She performs alone and experiments with others in various genres, dances and plays theater.
– But I always come back to this: Where do I stand, where do I want to be and where do I come from? I go back to the starting point; it is in traditional music that I feel at home. At the same time, I admire the genre in a way, and have enormous respect for it. I have been in discussions with those who believe that you lose the meaning of music if you don't create something new, but I don't want to make changes just for the sake of change. Good music will always be good music, even if it is old.
Norwegian champion in Hardanger fiddle playing
In 2014, Gro Marie Svidal won the landscape competition in Geilo, earning herself the title of Norwegian champion in Hardanger fiddle playing. This marked the start of the Jølstringen's second solo album.
Gro Marie has named the album EILOV, a Norse name that she fell in love with while searching through the library.
– I was looking for a solid name. And here the first part, ei, means alone, or unique, while the second part, lov, means descendant, or heir. It fits well the way I see it; I stand alone on this record, but in a long line of tradition bearers.
Experienced fiddlers such as Sigmund Eikås, Leif Rygg and Håkon Høgemo are some of these.
– I feel privileged; I have teachers for each of my uses. I turn to Sigmund for traditions from Sunnfjord, Leif for the lyrical, and Håkon when I want it powerful and need help with the technically demanding. Also Knut M. Sandal! He was the one who taught me to play.
In recent years, the contact between the first teacher and the student has blossomed again, and Gro Marie speaks of a warm person and a good conversation partner;
– He is someone who gives of himself so that I can develop.
Sandal, for his part, tells of a star student who was eager and enthusiastic, but always deeply concentrated.
- I didn't have to show the moves many times before it clicked. Speechless. She's been good the whole time, focused, and it's paid off, he says.
After competing in a competition at the age of 13, Gro Marie set a goal to practice two hours every day. The following year, she finished second in her class in the national competition.
A distinct tone, with a musical excess. This is how her fiddle playing is described.
– By that, they probably mean that it sounds easy to me, that I have control over the technical aspects.
She laughs out loud when I ask if that's true.
– No-hey! There are a thousand things I wish I could do better, but I try to rest where I am. It's a challenge. Klas Anders, my husband, says it so well; that the greatest quality is also the greatest weakness. Without being a perfectionist, I wouldn't have gotten where I am today, but it also makes me overfocus until I have no strength left. Then I sit down and laugh. And then it helps to go for a walk.
Love took her to Värmland
The thermometer shows a piercing blue 22, but the sun sparkles in white snow. Love took her across the border to the east, and now home is a little red house in Värmland.
– After several years on the road, I have learned to make longer batches with peace of mind. I don't really like traveling, but it is necessary in my profession. Then sleeping in your own bed, eating your own food and washing your own clothes becomes almost a therapeutic force in itself.
That is precisely why EILOV was recorded at the Women's Museum in Kongsvinger, a short drive across the border from Sweden. Dagny Juel's childhood home, Rolighed, was recommended as a recording location and Gro Marie found herself surrounded by strong women.
– I think it gave me a good energy. At home I have always felt equal, but in a larger music environment you can see differences. There are no objective decision-makers within professional folk music, but there is no evidence either. Previously I could be unsure and wonder if I wasn't good enough, but now I know that it's not just about the music. Networks and the press also have to be dealt with.
Between battles, it is important for Gro Marie to find peace at home, which is now in Värmland. Photo: Martin Hugne
For Gro Marie, the music is the driving force, it comes by itself. What is difficult is what happens between the songs.
– I am basically quite modest, so I never felt like I was a master of speaking, I didn’t know what to say. Through my master’s thesis at the Academy of Music, where I explored “the oral commentary in the Hardanger fiddle concerto”, I found some tricks, but it is still one of the things I find most difficult when planning new concerts. But it is important. When I talk about myself, about the origins of the music, what has shaped us, I give people a greater understanding of my tradition. It can give a greater experience.
On the album, the music should speak for itself, and she has worked to find songs that fit the format.
– Some songs are driving one-offs, good for their purpose, but they have to wait. Now I have concentrated on those that are interesting in themselves, those with melodic lines that curl, that develop like stories with peaks of tension and rich tones of color. These are songs that I like to play myself, songs that can be played over and over again, with a depth that can be explored layer by layer.
Text: Åsta Urdal | Photo: Martin Hugne
Facts about Gro Marie Svidal
■ From Jølster ■ Hardingfele player, composer, dancer and producer. ■ Educated at the Ole Bull Academy and the Norwegian Academy of Music.■ Has contributed to various publications and released the solo album Hardingfele. ■ Thursday 21 January she releases her second solo album; Eilov ■ Album release and concert at the Jølstra Museum at 8pm. ■ Concert in Løa in Dale 24.01 at 5pm